


When Least Expected

by Rearviewdreamer



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Kid Fic, Louis' a dad, M/M, Online Relationship, WIP, online music teacher Harry, pandemic fic, surprise surprise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-15 01:55:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29551728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rearviewdreamer/pseuds/Rearviewdreamer
Summary: Drowning in a sea of emails and Zoom meetings in the living room, his lonely son falling more and more behind in his kitchen classroom, and crushing weight of the world being on house arrest for the foreseeable future, one fateful online interaction suddenly has everything looking up.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 52
Kudos: 89





	1. Chapter 1

Louis isn’t sure how much time has passed; could be two minutes, could be two hours, it’s a welcome break from all the chaos of his life lately. The barrage of emails and online meetings, and a kind of exhaustion he never even knew existed before this all started. Before the overzealous handwashing, and the masks, and the crippling fear for his son’s wellbeing and life. Not that it’s a new feeling for Louis who had to watch his son undergo a liver transplant just two years ago. Once Max was in the clear with that, Louis assumed their darkest days were behind them, but he never could’ve imagined this. No one could have.

He finally gets to close his laptop at the end of another seemingly endless week of working from home. Or in his case, _a_ home. His mother’s home which she opened to him and Max the moment they realized the first lockdown order was coming. Louis is so grateful because he couldn’t imagine doing this completely alone.

They’ve got a finely tuned system in place that took a couple of months to master, but they made it work. During the week, his mum works from home upstairs in a makeshift office space in her room. She does any shopping for everyone that can’t be done online to prevent putting Louis, and of course Max, at higher risk than necessary. Louis never was much of a cook, so his mum handles the food while Louis takes care of the other tasks around the house like the constant sanitizing, cleaning, and baskets upon baskets of laundry. He spends his weekdays working out of the living room in a makeshift office similar to his mother's. It’s not the most productive place he could sit for eight hours. Being at home is actually pretty distracting for him, but he makes do. Actually, he’s doing pretty well in comparison to his seven-year-old who mentally checks out of online school every day as soon as it starts.

Sitting quietly with his head in his hands to close out his workweek doesn’t give him the same since of relief as a celebratory pint with his friends used to, but it’s nice. Louis is also not surprised when it abruptly ends with his son calling him from the next room. 

“Be right there!” Louis calls back to his son, already knowing and dreading the reason he is being summoned.

Louis walks into the kitchen and over to the table in the middle of the room; the third makeshift office they had to create nearly a year ago when everything first shut down. Max’s school things are strewn all over it as per usual along with the evidence of all the snacks he’s had today. But, that’s not what pulls Louis’ focus in this moment. It’s the defeated look on his son’s face.

“Hey, you. Miss me already?” Louis smiles to try and brighten his mood. His attempt isn’t very successful. Max still looks as glum as before when he nods at his laptop to announce that his teacher would like a word with him.

Louis assumed she would. She usually does these days because she’s just as concerned about Max as Louis is.

“Er- Give me just a minute, love?” Louis asks as he takes Max’s place at the table. He forces himself not to sigh when his son flees the kitchen and runs up the stairs to freedom. Louis wishes he could share in Max’s relief. Currently, Louis feels like he’s back in primary school all over again and about to be scolded.

He paints on a kind grin as he meets the eyes of Ms. Kirshner through the laptop’s camera, somehow feeling more nervous when she routinely grins back.

Louis already knows how this is going to go before Ms. Kirshner begins. She says that she can tell Max isn’t at his best. She’s having trouble reaching him. He seems more withdrawn than usual. He has lost interest even in things he once loved like reading and writing. And, the most painful thing for Louis to hear, is that his son seems so unhappy.

Again, it’s nothing new even though it makes Louis’ throat sting to know his son can’t seem to catch a break. School has never been easy for Max after spending a large chuck of his first year in and out of the hospital because of his weakened liver, his transplant, and the multiple complications that followed it. Max never really got the chance to make friends like the other kids, so he moved schools so he could start over without being ‘the sick kid’.

It feels like it was all for nothing. Because even though Max is now a generally normal, healthy child with the exception of a few surgical scars, the pandemic has basically made him ‘the sick kid’ all over again.

No one knows how much more risk there is for organ recipients, but suggestions have been to err on the side of extreme caution. That’s been the hardest part about all of this, because even when school sucked, Max had other fun interests that he loved like trips to the park and the zoo. They haven’t gone anywhere like that in ages for fear of what _might_ happen. Sadly, Max hasn’t been much further than their small front garden in nearly a year.

Louis closes his son’s borrowed laptop once the impromptu parent-teacher conference ends. It didn’t last long, but it was enough to fill Louis with renewed exhaustion and guilt because he doesn’t know what to do. Max’s already small world has become microscopic in the last year, and Louis can’t fix it. He’s struggling and bored and lonely, and there’s nothing that Louis or anyone else in the world can do to make that go away. Even the couple of therapists they tried landed them in the same spot because for Max, talking him through his feelings and how to cope with them is all just words. He’s fed up with this pandemic and everything that comes with it, and honestly, at times Louis feels like he’s reaching his breaking point as well. 

Once he talks himself into getting up from the table, he too heads upstairs in search of his son. The first person he sees through her cracked bedroom door is his mother still working away offering support encouragement for other nurses and health workers also at their wits end. They’re lucky to have her to confide in and air out their grievances in a healthy way. Louis and Max are lucky to have someone who loves them so much that she was willing to open her home to them and choose to stay there to keep them both safe.

Louis’ childhood room is now Max’s room, but when he reaches it, his son is nowhere to be found. The house isn’t very big, particularly on the second floor, so the only other place Max could be is the guest room that Louis now sleeps in. However, when Louis pokes his head into the room, there’s still no sign of him.

“Max? You in here?” Louis calls into the guestroom just to be sure he’s not hiding in there somewhere. He gets nothing in response, but a sudden crash from downstairs that sends Louis’ heart racing.

Both Louis and his mother fly downstairs at the commotion, their concerned eyes scanning every visible area of the first floor and coming up empty.

“Max? Where are you?” his mother calls.

They finally get an answer from Max that confuses Louis even more because the muffled voice is coming from _behind_ them. Louis and his mother turn around and see the door of the storage closet beneath the stairs cracked open. It takes Louis by surprise because most of the time, he often forgets that closet even exists. He used to rummage through it as a kid when he was bored. Clearly, Max got bored enough to want to check it out too because when Louis widens the door, his son isn’t crumpled beneath a bunch of old boxes like he had feared. He doesn’t seem to be in any danger at all. In fact, he looks better than ever, smiling up at Louis and his mum with an acoustic guitar in his lap and a giant smile on his face.

“Dad, look what I found! It’s cool, right?! It was on top of those boxes!”

That explains the loud crash. Louis eyes the height of the boxes stacked on top of each other at the back of the storage room. It’s a miracle Max didn’t pull them down on top of him too. Now, Louis understands why his mother used to scold him for playing in here alone. Even so, he can’t bring himself to scold Max, not when he’s looking genuinely excited about something for the first time in months.

Max strums it and it sounds awful because the strings are out of tune and older than Louis and probably even his mum. This guitar belonged to her dad so there’s no telling how long it has been since it was given some proper love and attention. Louis vaguely remembers seeing it lying around in here when he was young, but it never occurred to Louis to learn to play it. Max seems pretty attached to it already, which is why Louis doesn’t think twice before encouraging this newfound interest and enthusiasm in his son.

“Well, we’ll have to get you some lessons, won’t we, mate?” Louis proposes, his whole heart melting when Max’s blue eyes grow even brighter at the idea.

The next morning while his mother is out on a grocery run and Max is cuddled up at his dad’s side watching cartoons, Louis sits down with his laptop to try and follow through on his promise. It’s a bit harder than he anticipated because lots of music studios are temporarily closed like many other businesses right now, and the ones that are offering lessons online are way outside of Louis’ budget. After a while, he finds a few music teachers he can actually afford, but they don’t work very much with beginners or children. Louis is just about to call it quits for the time being when he comes across one music teacher’s website that seems to fit the bill. He gives lessons for a few instruments, but his main love is teaching guitar. He works exclusively with beginners and also kids, and weekly lessons won’t cost Louis a fortune. Technically, Louis could afford to give Max lessons twice per week, but it’s probably better to start small and not overwhelm him.

All that’s left to do now is to contact the teacher and hope he has time to take on Max, so Louis quickly shoots an inquiry email to Harry Styles and hopes for the best.

Louis closes his laptop and settles in to watch yet another episode of _Adventure Time_. However, not even five minutes pass before Louis’ phone dings with a fresh email. It’s from Harry Styles explaining that he’d love to take on a new student and can start working with Max as early as next week.

He is considering starting his lessons on Monday it when something happening on tv fills the room with Max’s bright laughter. It’s such a welcome sound and it warms Louis’ heart just like his smile did the day before. He can’t really explain it, but it makes him happy to see his son happy. And right now, learning to play an old guitar is his best chance at keeping a smile on his face and glint in his eye, so Monday it is.


	2. Chapter 2

The beginning of the week comes in the same chaotic flurry as any other with the house functioning as a home, office, school, and cafeteria all at once. Months of frustration with the lack of space, privacy, and stable internet connection has driven everybody a little mad with cabin fever. The only thing that makes it even marginally better is the day ending and the world becoming slightly quieter. That doesn’t mean the day gets any easier, of course. There is absolutely no processing time or boundary between work life and home life, so they leave behind harsh screens and internet troubles and jump straight to dinner, homework, and family time. At least, that’s what they used to do. Today marks the start of a new sort of routine for them to adapt to; Max’s guitar lessons.

Louis could weep having to reopen another laptop just minutes after finally shutting his for the day, but seeing Max excitedly bound up the stairs and back down with his guitar in hand makes it all worth it. After holding onto the promise of learning to play it today, he has been about as patient as a seven-year-old can be.

Max’s guitar teacher sent a Zoom link yesterday, so Louis spends a few minutes searching through the mountain of new emails trying to find it. Once he does, it’s one minute past five o’clock so Louis hurriedly joins the meeting with an apology already on his lips. However, once the connection stabilizes, the only thing that comes out of Louis’ mouth is a delightfully surprised “Er- _Oh_.”

When Louis was researching, he hadn’t paid much attention to pictures on most of the music teachers’ websites. Louis was more focused on their going rates and whether they could get a shy kid like Max to feel confident while trying something new. Even as distracted as he was, he finds it hard to believe he overlooked someone this exquisite.

“Hello, you must be Louis,” Harry smiles at him kindly enough, but his dimples and the green of his eyes are disarming in a way that makes Louis forget he’s meant to say something back.

“Um, and you must be Harry,” he says a few beats late.

“Looks like we’re both in the right place. That’s a relief. I’ve barely left my flat in months and yet somehow I still end up in the wrong meeting from time to time,” he jokes, forcing a nervous and breathy sort of laugh from Louis that he has never really heard himself make before.

“You’re telling me. I still manage to show up late to everything so I’m starting to think it’s actually _me_ ,” Louis jokes back, a weird sense of triumph washing over him when Harry cackles with his whole body.

It’s the dimples giving Louis butterflies; it must be. Or maybe it’s the way Harry is staring at him with this excited expectation like he’s waiting for something to happen.

“So... I was under the impression there’s someone else I’m supposed to meet today too,” he hints. Harry absentmindedly adjusts the strap of the acoustic guitar he’s holding, yanking Louis out of the weird daze he somehow slipped into.

“ _Fu-_ Right!” Louis confirms as he remembers the whole point of today and his _son_ still waiting patiently with his guitar on the other side of the table. He silently encourages Max to step into view of the webcam so Harry can see him. “Harry, this is Max. Max, this is your guitar teacher, Harry. He’s going to show you how to actually play this thing!”

“That is absolutely right,” Harry agrees with his big trusting smile in place once more. “You’re going to be a pro in no time and teaching your dad a few things.”

Max is being a little shy as per usual. He’s never been the type of kid to loudly express his excitement, but he bites down on a grin like he likes the sound of that.

Louis gets up from the kitchen table so Max and his guitar can take his place. There are a million and one things on Louis’ to-do list, and Max seems to be comfortable so he decides to leave them be.

“Well, I guess I’ll leave you two to it,” he announces after a few beats.

“Aw, don’t worry too much, dad. He’s in good hands. Promise.”

There’s a lot to unpack there, so Louis is actively not acknowledging the return of the butterflies from Harry jokingly calling him dad. Nope. Not going to think about it. “Kay, have fun, love!” Louis tells Max before dropping a kiss to the top of his head. “And thank you,” he says to Max’s teacher whom he already has a good feeling about. Notwithstanding the very cute smile.

“No problem,” Harry assures him with those fucking dimples.

Louis forces himself to leave them alone as promised, listening to Harry begin their first lesson by explaining the guitar’s anatomy, how it makes sound, and finally tuning it. Eventually, Louis even hears Harry demonstrate playing a few easy chords to show Max how the guitar strings, the pick, the left hand, and the right hand all work together. It’s actually calming and serene to hear such effortless and seamless playing. It all comes to a horrific end when Max attempts to play along and hit every note but the right ones, making Louis wonder what the hell he was thinking letting a seven-year-old experiment with a new instrument in the middle of a global pandemic.

*

_Two Weeks Later_

Grocery days have slowly become days that Louis dreads due to the sheer amount of sanitization that comes with it. Currently, every inch of counter space in the kitchen is occupied with essential household items, food, and snacks that his mother braved the masses for. Louis is beyond thankful that she is able to go out for them when they need things. But, at the same time, he would also love it if each time he didn’t need to spend hours wiping down everything until his hands feel like sandpaper.

It’s not all bad today though because Louis has the soundtrack of Max’s guitar lesson to keep him plenty entertained.

Louis can’t remember what his expectations were when he signed Max up for lessons. He expected a pretty rough start considering Max has never played an instrument before, but, after three lessons, he’s not half bad. Louis knows that Harry and his abundance of patience are to thank.

He’s so good with Max that it’s hard to believe they started working together just a couple of weeks ago. Usually, it takes time for Max to feel comfortable around new people, but with Harry he is great. Harry explains things slowly and easily so Max can understand them, and he never makes Max feel like he can’t ask questions. He encourages Max to make mistakes and then helps him learn from them, and when Max gets something right, Harry cheers so loud that he can be heard throughout the whole house.

Louis finishes sanitizing and putting things away around the same time that Max’s lesson comes to an end. As per usual, as soon as Harry assigns Max some guitar homework for the week, he takes off up the stairs to his room to start practicing. Louis fondly rolls his eyes at his son who is so eager to practice the song he just learned that he forgot to close the laptop and tidy up.

He doesn’t mind picking up the slack for his son today, walking over and jumping a bit when he realizes Harry is still there.

He is no longer paying attention to the camera, too busy scribbling into a notebook that he brings to every lesson. Louis only watches him for a moment; just long enough to notice that his curls are a bit messier than usual today and his nail color has changed from baby blue to a pastel pink. After those quick observations, Louis politely clears his throat so that he isn’t caught staring. Harry jumps a bit too once he realizes he’s not alone, but his expression brightens as soon as he sees it’s just Louis.

“Er... I thought I clicked the button to end the meeting, but clearly not,” Harry chuckles at himself. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Louis says, noting the fluttery feeling in his stomach when Harry cheekily jokes that he actually isn’t all that sorry.

Louis’ not really sure what to do with that information. Honestly, he doesn’t know what to do with his son’s guitar teacher in general. On the one hand, Harry is the magical pandemic pick-me-up that Max needs to cope with the bullshit going on in the world. On the other hand, Louis hasn’t had any physical contact with anyone besides his family in over a year and Harry’s lips and overgrown, dexterous hands look perfect for just about anywhere and everywhere Louis could imagine them going.

There’s a moment where the corners of Harry’s lips twitch while they stare at one another. Like somehow, he knows Louis’ thoughts have digressed way past their polite small talk.

“Kay, bye!” Louis says before quickly shutting the laptop.

“Well, that was very rude of you,” someone scolds from behind, making Louis jump. He hadn’t realized his mother was even downstairs, let alone listening to him being awkward as fuck.

“What?” Louis asks in a confused voice. “I said goodbye.”

“Uh, you _shouted_ goodbye,” she corrects, “and he was just about to say something back before you cut him off. It could’ve been important, you know.”

It wasn’t. Harry said just last week that Max is doing great so far.

Louis has no good excuse for what just happened. He can’t very well tell his mother that he wants to fuck the guitar teacher he’s never even met. Or you know, at very least have a very heated snogging session. _Post_ -pandemic of course.

He panicked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Louis maintains as he starts clearing Max’s corner of the kitchen table so they can soon have dinner on it.

“You apologize to him next time,” his mother commands. “I raised a son with manners.”

What she raised is a son who hasn’t gotten laid in ages and has always had a weakness for dimples, tattoos, and bright green eyes. And, apparently now, musicians.


	3. Chapter 3

Max has been successfully taking lessons for over a month when Louis is summoned for another impromptu parent-teacher conference by Mrs. Kirshner. Louis drags his feet from his living room office to Max’s kitchen classroom. He is already bracing himself for more bad news from her even though Louis knows for a fact that Max is a million times happier than he was five weeks ago. That may not be directly translating to his schoolwork, but it should still count for something.

He can hardly believe it when he sits down with Mrs. Kirshner and the first thing out of her mouth is how amazing Max has been doing since they last spoke. This whole year has been one concerned report after another so Louis checks to make sure Max’s teacher didn’t mean to meet with some other kid’s parent. She assures Louis that she’s definitely got the right dad, and that he must be doing an amazing job too.

After the meeting, Louis just sits there in the middle of the kitchen grinning at nothing; not because Mrs. Kirshner thinks he is father of the year for pulling Max out of his pandemic slump, but because it had nothing at all to do with him. Max is more himself because he has found something he loves. And a musician he admires more than he’s ever admired anyone else.

Louis first noticed how much his son likes Harry a few weeks ago when he could hear Max practicing in his room and counting out the rhythm of his strumming in the same silly voice that Harry uses to lighten the mood whenever something is hard. Sometimes, Louis catches Max parroting little sayings and mottos that Harry frequently uses. Like the morning Louis broke a plate trying to clean up the kitchen and Max told him don’t worry about it, because everything’s going to be fine. Wise words from a seven-year-old; even wiser from Harry who seems to not stress about small things. As much as Max admires Harry, Louis finds that he sort of admires him too. Or, greatly admires him. Especially after helping his son be his brightest, most confident self.

Positives have been hard to come by in the last year, so Louis knows better than to let a good thing slip away. Even if it requires him to suck it up and actually have a normal conversation with Harry Styles rather than whatever the hell their usual interactions are.

That Monday, Louis makes sure he’s around towards the end of Max’s lesson. Today they’re working on _I’ve Just Seen a Face_ by the Beatles; one of the simple chord songs Max has added to his rapidly growing repertoire. For the last hour, the house has been filled with a steady rotation of G, E minor, C, and D chords along with Harry and Max counting out the strumming pattern in unison. It was rough for the first few minutes, but it has gotten better during the course of the lesson. Louis can’t imagine how much faster things would progress with this song and all the others if Max had proper help with it more than once per week.

Louis inhales and exhales to get rid of the nerves that pop up out of nowhere when he hears Harry start to explain to Max what he should practice until next time. As per usual, Max carefully writes down his homework, but Louis intervenes before he can run upstairs to his room.

“Er- I just need to talk to Harry for a second,” Louis grins as he stops his son from telling Harry bye and slamming the laptop closed.

“Okay,” Max chirps. He excitedly waves goodbye to Harry and runs to his room in a way that makes Louis smile.

Louis takes his seat, politely grinning at Harry who politely grins at him once he’s in view. He looks great; his short curls a mess as per usual, but lovely at the same time. He’s wearing a black Across the Universe t-shirt to fit the theme of today’s lesson, a thin string of pearls around his neck, and a fresh coat of bright pink nail polish to top it all off. “Hello, there,” Louis greets him.

“Hello, Louis. How are you?” he smiles back. “I heard you say you wanted to talk.”

“Uh, yeah, actually. It’s about Max and his lessons,” Louis begins, noting the tiny crease of concern that forms between Harry’s brows. Also noting the tiny strawberry painted onto Harry’s left thumbnail.

“He’s doing _so_ great. Truly the sweetest and most motivated student I’ve had. He really is such an amazing kid,” Harry assures him, putting the biggest and proudest smile on Louis’ face.

“Harry, I know. He’s incredible,” Louis agrees, chuckling at how defensive Harry just got over his favorite student. “Actually, him doing so well is what I wanted to talk to you about. I was wondering what you think about maybe two lessons per week? Er- If you have the time of course,” Louis quickly adds. “I know you’re busy, so we wouldn’t want to-”

“I’m not busy,” Harry blurts out, seeming to rethink that claim a few seconds after he makes it. “Well, I’m not _that_ busy. Definitely not too busy for you and Max,” he amends, biting down on a bashful grin that sends Louis’ stomach fluttering.

“Good to know. Great. Thank you,” Louis replies. “So, we already do Monday afternoons. How about Thursdays or Fridays for round two?”

“Fridays at this time work well. I can work with Max right after my other Friday students and save the best for last,” Harry chuckles.

“Alright then. Thanks. That’s sorted,” Louis announces. This went so well; much better than Louis expected it to after their track record for weird pauses and semi-flirting. He’s just about to chalk this meeting up to a roaring success and say goodbye when Harry stops him with one of his signature cheeky grins.

“Wait. You never answered my question,” he claims.

“Uh, maybe because you never asked one?” Louis snorts, fairly certain Harry hasn’t asked him anything.

“Actually, I did,” Harry says matter-of-factly. “When we said hi, I also asked, ‘how are you?’. So, Louis, how are you?”

Louis thinks back five minutes ago and vaguely recalls Harry asking him that, but he assumed it was more of a formality than an actual question. “I - didn’t realize you were serious,” Louis admits with a laugh. Harry answers it with an expectant raise of an eyebrow, making Louis fondly roll his eyes. “Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Harry confirms. “How are things? How was your day? I want to hear about it.”

It’s been a while since Louis has had someone genuinely interested in how his day went. He is skeptical of his son’s guitar teacher wanting to know the ins and outs of never leaving the fucking house, but Harry seems to really want to. “Quarantine’s got you that bored, huh?” Louis jokes.

Harry just shrugs. “Maybe,” he teases back. “Or maybe I figured it’s about time we try actually chatting with one another. If that’s alright with you, of course. I understand if you’re busy at the moment.”

Louis’ got a few things to do this evening before getting Max ready for bed. The laundry certainly isn’t going to wash and dry itself, but it has also been ages since Louis has had a real conversation with someone who isn’t Max, his teacher, or his mum. No offence to them.

“...I’ve got a few minutes,” Louis says in his most nonchalant voice to hide how much he’s looking forward to this.

They end up chatting for way longer than just a few minutes. They talk about absolutely nothing for over half an hour, and at the end of it, Louis realizes that Max’s hot guitar teacher isn’t as intimidating as he thought. Actually, Louis quite likes him. He’s funny, mostly because he’s not trying to be, and he has some of the worst taste in television shows of anyone Louis has ever met. Most surprising of all, is that once Louis stopped focusing so much on what he looks like, Harry is actually really easy to talk to. And, frankly, Louis could use a new friend.

_Two Weeks Later_

It’s hard not to hum along to the music constantly coming from Max’s bedroom. It’s also hard to believe that he now plays so well that he’s not only able to play his favorite songs, but songs that Louis and his mother love too. Louis is just bobbing his head to a Green Day song that Max has been working on for the past couple of days. Never in a million years did Louis expect for his seven-year-old to like the same music as him, or that he would one day give him a free concert that teenage Louis would’ve loved. Louis also never would’ve expected to get on with his kid’s guitar teacher so well that it’s not unusual for them to shoot each other random texts throughout the week. Kind of like right now as Louis stops folding laundry to commend Harry for helping expand Max’s taste in music past memes and bloody Kidz Bop.

Louis goes back to folding, but before long, he is grinning at the sound of his phone vibrating with a response.

‘I’d love to take all the credit, but that’s mostly you,’ Harry sends. ‘He’s got a whole notebook full of songs that he wants to learn because you love them. It’s quite cute.’

That is really cute. Louis generally thinks everything his son does is cute, but he is a bit biased for obvious reasons. ‘What’s next after Green Day then?’ Louis asks.

‘Mmm, not sure. Maybe we’ll try a bit of Fleetwood’.

Louis frowns, unsure of how Fleetwood Mac ended up in Max’s notebook if it’s meant to reflect the things he has heard Louis obsessively listening to over the years. ‘Mmm, not sure that’s my influence.’ In this case, the influence is most likely Louis’ mum who has been playing their music in the house since Louis was a kid.

‘Actually, I think I might be to blame there... Max wanted to know my favorite artists and songs a few weeks ago.’

That makes sense. Lately, Max has been into anything Harry is into. Louis even saw him snooping around his grandmother’s manicure stuff a couple of nights ago. Louis wouldn’t be surprised if one day he started unapologetically sporting bright pink nails like his new hero. Louis kind of hopes Max does if it’ll keep him as chipper as he has been lately.

‘I know I’ve thanked you before, but I’m going to do it again because Max really really likes you, and that’s...’ Louis doesn’t even know how to say it without telling Harry that he has quite literally pulled his kid out of the darkness of this year. ‘...it’s great and so appreciated,’ Louis decides on, fondly rolling his eyes when Harry sends a rolling eye emoji followed by a blushing emoji in response.

‘I’ve told you a million times, there’s no need to thank me...” Harry claims, changing his mind a second later. ‘BUT since you insist, you’re welcome and I will gladly accept thanks in the form of a facetime chat. Pretty please. With a banana on top.’

Louis snorts at how quickly Harry went from modest to demanding. After the initial humor wears off, Louis is left grinning like an idiot. This isn’t the first time Harry has hinted at wanting to talk on the phone or Facetime. Louis always figured Harry was joking because he couldn’t imagine what they’d actually talk about. They’ve done pretty well with texting these past couple of weeks though, and Louis hasn’t had to abort mission during any more of their conversations, so how bad could it go?

Louis finishes folding the last of everyone’s clothes and then Facetimes Harry as requested. When he answers with a big, victorious smile, Louis is annoyed at his smugness, but also, he’s really glad he finally called.

“It’s ‘pretty please with a _cherry_ on top’, you know,” Louis greets him.

“Yeah, I know,” Harry acknowledges, “But, _banana_ got you to call me, so I win.”

“Fuck off.” Louis fears he may have offended by getting too comfortable with Harry too quickly, but Harry isn’t put off. He actually snorts a laugh and turns Louis’ ‘fuck off’ around on him with a quick ‘fuck you’ before launching into a speech about bananas being the best fruit. And here was Louis thinking they’d have nothing exciting to talk about. 

After that day, calling each other becomes as regular as sanitizing every square inch of everything or hearing an acoustic guitar playing in every room of the house. During the day, Louis is hard at work in the living room, trying his best to concentrate amid all the many distractions going on; distractions which now include random texts and pictures from Harry also working from home in a studio he threw together once seeing students at his actual studio became unsafe. Between music lessons, Louis will get a tour of Harry’s kitchen counters as he makes himself lunch, a tour of his houseplants that don’t seem particularly enthusiastic about living, or videos of Harry’s dog that Max is always going on about, but Louis had never actually seen.

Louis sends things back when he has the chance. Usually it’s just him bored at his desk or Max working hard at the kitchen table. He sends Harry memes about the pains of working from home because they’re hilarious, and also, because it truly is painful at times, but lately Louis hasn’t minded as much. He could never get away with being on his phone so much if he were at his real office. There’s a pretty good chance that the two of them never would’ve become friends if the world hadn’t changed so much so fast. It is hard sometimes to see any good in the last year, but when Louis looks hard enough, he realizes that it’s not all bad, and Harry is part of that.

As much as they annoy each other during the day, the evening is pretty much the same except Louis trades his phone for his mother’s iPad. She has teasingly scolded him for the past month claiming that he has stolen the iPad since he uses it more than her. She fondly rolled her eyes the morning Louis cut the bullshit and finally asked to keep the charger and the stand rather than going through the daily song and dance of asking to borrow it for a few minutes which turn into a few hours; especially when they decide to go all out and watch something together.

“You pick,” Harry insists from where he’s lounging on his sofa with his dog, Leila, curled up next to him. Louis would find it cute if he weren’t forced to roll his eyes at Harry’s invitation.

“What for?” Louis drones. “We both know we’re just going to end up watching something that _you_ pick.” Which is sure to be something that _Louis_ hates, but it’s better than watching something dumb on his own with no one to listen to his snarky commentary.

“That’s not true,” Harry claims. “We watched something that you picked yesterday.”

Louis snorts at that. “Yeah, we watched Stranger Things for ten whole minutes before you got bored and decided we should watch bloody Love Island.” Louis doesn’t have to explain to Harry his disdain for the show as it was pretty obvious from his flat expression when Harry suggested they watch it.

“Oh, admit it. It’s a fun show! Also, it’s not like we’re going on a summer holiday anytime soon, so Love Island’s about as close as we’re going to get.”

Harry is correct in that sense. What wouldn’t Louis do to lay around in the Mallorcan sunshine drinking margaritas even just for a day.

“Fine. Love Island is good for living vicariously through mostly good-looking singles without body fat,” Louis grudgingly admits.

“ _And_ , it’s about love!” Harry adds, frowning when Louis mutters that it’s really, really not. “ _Hey_. Some of them end up together long-term.” Even Leila cracks her eyes open to side-eye that claim.

“Oh, yeah? What percentage would you guess?” Louis asks smugly, knowing that for years the news headlines have featured a Love Island break-up every other day.

“Shut up. We’re watching it,” Harry declares as he instructs Louis to pull up episode two so Louis can really ‘get a feel for it’.

Louis just knew Harry would wind up getting his way. He always does.

After a couple of episodes of listening to the most senseless conversations on the planet, it kills Louis to say it, but the show isn’t as awful as he thought. The premise is still absolutely ridiculous. Louis just cannot buy into the idea of these people falling in love and forming meaningful relationships in six weeks or less with money on the line, but it’s entertaining all the same. Mostly because none of them can figure out who they’re actually compatible with to even make it to the end and win the bloody money.

“We’d make a good couple,” Harry comments just as Louis takes a sip of beer that turns into a painful gulp.

“Huh?” Louis asks after he is done choking. He is surprised to learn that he did in fact hear Harry correctly. Harry just didn’t mean it in _that_ way. At least Louis thinks he didn’t.

“If we were on this show, I’d couple up with you straight away. We’re both chill, we get along, we don’t annoy each other that much, and the public would love us” Harry reasons. “We’d make it six weeks together no problem.”

Louis doesn’t have to give it much consideration to know that Harry is right. They could totally be a successful hypothetical couple for six weeks on Love Island. Maybe even outside the show and for longer than that, but Louis’ not going to mention that to Harry.

“Do you snore, Styles?”

Harry’s brow furrows at the question. “A little,” he shrugs. “Why? Is that a deal breaker, _Tomlinson_?”

“It is for six fucking weeks on a reality show. You couldn’t pay me enough to be filmed sharing a bed with a night growler.”

Harry laughs with his whole body at that, forcing Leila to hop off the sofa in search of a quieter place to nap. Harry’s smile is as big as ever as he fondly shakes his head at Louis.

“Damn. We nearly had it all,” he jokingly laments.

Even though it is harmless, Louis often can’t decide if flirting back and forth with Harry, his new _friend_ , is really appropriate. Actually, that’s a lie because Louis knows he shouldn’t, and yet. “Work on the snoring and then we’ll talk coupling-up and bed-sharing.” 

“Yes, sir.” The cheeky grin on Harry’s face makes Louis grin just as big because clearly Harry doesn’t mind the flirting when he fucking starts it.


	4. Chapter 4

It’s Sunday morning when Louis has the iPad plugged into the wall of the kitchen so he and Max can see Harry sucking at making chocolate chip waffles just like them.

“Ummm, I think you’re supposed to add all the dry things _after_ the wet things,” Harry snorts as he watches Louis tire of following directions and dump in the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar, and chocolate chips with the butter, milk, and eggs to make one lumpy mess in a bowl.

“Does it matter what order it goes in? It’s all going into the same waffle iron,” Louis scoffs, noting that Harry’s waffles haven’t exactly been attractive either even with him following all the rules.

“Harry’s waffles aren’t all burned like ours,” Max unhelpfully points out from his station at the counter where he’s slicing up bananas and strawberries with a plastic butter knife.

“Oi!” Louis says in his own defense since he’s the adult on waffle iron duty. “Our waffles are not _burned_.”

“Yeah, they’re just extra firm...” Harry smirks. “And crispy... and basically the same color as Leila.”

Harry is referring to his black Labrador who is currently out of sight, but no doubt circling around the counter in hopes of food falling to her level. Louis rolls his eyes at Harry’s waffle iron closed perfectly over top of his batter, however he and Max both get a good laugh when Harry opens the iron a few seconds later to reveal half cooked mess.

“Wow, I don’t know, Styles. I think waffles are supposed to actually be edible,” Louis teases in the same voice Harry used to mock him and his disregard for rules.

The three of them are laughing so hard that they don’t notice the arrival of Louis’ mother, fondly watching them destroy her kitchen.

“Oh! Hello, Mrs. Tomlinson!” Harry greets her, adorably unaware that his face and clothes have waffle batter all over them.

Louis’ mum doesn’t seem to care. She waves back at Harry wearing the same weirdly knowing smile as the last few times she has found Harry hanging out with Louis and Max. This time, she is kindly invited by Harry to join their waffle attempt. Or rather, save it. Thanks to her, they actually get some edible waffles out of the batter they have left and she even coaches Harry so that his are cooked all the way through; a true hero in all their eyes.

Louis isn’t quite sure how she feels about Harry and his near-constant presence in their household via Facetime, but as far as he can tell, she really likes him and the energy he has brought back to the house. Heaven knows, they needed it.

That evening after Max and his mum have gone to sleep, Louis finds himself lying in bed, unable to do the same. His Sunday was pretty busy so he should be exhausted, but he’s not. His brain has yet to settle down enough for him to drift off, too busy thinking over the parts of his day that seemed a little easier to get through because he had company.

Harry was there while they cooked and ate waffles, he facetimed again around lunchtime when he said he wanted Louis’ advice on making risotto. As if Louis knows anything about bloody risotto. He talked to Harry while he did Sunday laundry, and again after his mother went out for a few things and Louis was on sanitation duty. After dinner, Louis had his hands full with getting Max to put down his guitar long enough to get ready for bed. And then it was Louis’ turn, but his usual routine of warm tea and a hot shower didn’t do the trick.

He tosses and turns in bed for over an hour before he realizes what’s probably missing from his evening. Or rather who.

‘You awake?’ he texts Harry, rolling his eyes when Harry immediately replies with a ‘no’ followed by an upside-down smiley face. Louis reaches out for the lamp on his bedside and turns it on before Facetiming his friend who is clearly, also having trouble sleeping. 

“I’m glad my beauty rest is so important to you,” Harry teases as if he actually _needs_ beauty rest.

“Oh, shut up and talk to me,” Louis grins back.

“Well, since you asked so nicely.” Harry’s smile is visible in the soft glow of his phone screen. He is lying on a pillow that Louis doesn’t recognize from Harry’s sofa, meaning he was already in bed. He just hadn’t gone to sleep. “I’ve got an idea!” Harry proposes. “We’re only five episodes into Love-”

“Finish that sentence, and I’m going to murder you.”

“Mmmm, won’t that be kind of difficult through the phone?” Harry jokes.

“Not if I track you down first. I’ve been itching to leave the house all year anyway,” Louis jokes back.

Harry chuckles at that, his eyes alight and full of curiosity as he stares at Louis.

“You really haven’t left in a year?” he asks with a sort of sad tone. “I mean, none of us have left to do anything fun, but you haven’t left at all? Not even to ‘ _shop for essentials’,_ Harry says using finger quotes.

“Nope. Not really. I haven’t had to,” Louis shrugs. “My mum goes out for us whenever we’re running low on things. That’s the biggest reason Max and I moved in. Since he had the transplant a couple of years ago, he’s at higher risk, so we’ve had to be extra careful. I’m with him the most, so I don’t want to risk it. Also, my mum’s a nurse, so I felt better being here with her than roughing it on our own.” So far, their plan has worked. His mother is super careful when she’s out, as a nurse she makes sure to take all precautions, and because of this, Max hasn’t had so much as a sniffle.

“I still can’t believe he had to go through all that,” Harry whispers. “Well, I can believe that he went through it and made it out the other side because he’s a beyond amazing kid. But, that’s to be expected with a dad like you.”

Louis rolls his eyes to play down the color rising in his cheeks. “Thanks, but uh, I’m really not all that great,” Louis mutters despite Harry’s total disagreement. Between Max struggling with school and lockdown and Louis feeling like he could burst into tears any moment over the past year, he has felt pretty shit. It’s a hard pill to swallow for someone who considered himself a good single parent until the world fell apart. “It’s been rough,” Louis admits. “Lonely,” he says a few beats later.

Harry nods his understanding with his grin re-materializing on his face.

“Well, we’ll have to fix that, won’t we?” Harry teases, completely unaware that he basically already has.

*

Every time Louis sees or hears a news headline these days it’s pointing out the fact that the world is coming up on its one-year-anniversary of a pandemic that seems to have no end. Weird thing to commemorate in Louis’ opinion. The last thing he wants is to be reminded of how long it has been since life felt normal.

Now, Louis has adapted to a new kind of normality. One that involves connecting and having fun in any way possible that also keeps everyone safe. Tonight, that source of fun for them all is a virtual music slash nail painting party with Harry.

Surprisingly, the idea was all Max’s after finally getting up the nerve to stop admiring Harry’s nails and his grandmother’s collection of bright sparkly colors to start using them himself. Louis hadn’t intended to join in. He was merely a happy spectator to all the fun, but Harry was having none of that. Which meant Max and Louis’ mother were also having none of that, and now, Louis’ toes look like glittery grapes and the coffee table has more spilled polish on it than not thanks to Max slowly figuring out that precision is key here.

The surface that Harry is using in his flat is utterly spotless as he is clearly the professional here along with Louis’ mum who has already moved on to giving herself a proper manicure.

“I miss this. I used to do this with my sister all the time. You know, before,” Harry comments after giving a nod of approval to Louis’ freshly painted toes.

Louis’ mother aims a sympathetic grin over at the iPad. “How is she, your sister?”

“And what’s her name?” Max adds without even looking up from where he’s trying to be graceful with his left hand even though he typically uses his right.

“Gemma is good,” Harry reports. “Her and her boyfriend are safe. She typically worked from home as a freelance writer so not too much has changed in that sense.”

“That’s nice they’ve got each other,” Jay grins.

Harry nods in agreement as he switches out a bottle of light blue polish for lilac.

“Yeah, and my mum too. They all got together at her place before the first lockdown. I sort of missed the boat to quarantine with everyone else because I wanted to try and keep my studio open for as long as possible for my students who were still coming,” he reveals with a dark chuckle.

Louis feels pangs of sympathy for Harry who has done this whole year by himself. He doesn’t think he could have lasted this long. Hell, Louis probably wouldn’t last a week being the only one in the house.

“I’m sorry, love,” Jay tells him, and Louis echoes her sentiments.

“Eh, I talk to them every day and it all worked out for the best. It’s safer this way, and everyone has stayed healthy. That’s about all we can ask these days, so I’m happy,” Harry shrugs before sporting a smirk a second later. “Also, you lot are _way_ more fun, but don’t tell them I said that,” he jokes, making them all laugh from the high praise.

“Maybe someday when this is over, we can do this for real; your family included,” Louis proposes. The way Harry’s eyes light up at the thought starts a giddy fluttering in Louis’ stomach. He hasn’t had something to look forward to in ages, but something tells him that his excitement is less to do with family manicure night and more to do with the thought of seeing Harry outside of a screen.

_Two Weeks Later_

It’s a Wednesday morning when Louis is suddenly pulled from his sleep by someone saying _Dad_ over and over. Louis’ eyes fly open to see his son standing over him and wearing a confused expression.

“Did you sleep with Harry?”

“ _What?_ ” Louis splutters as he sits up, only realizing what his son means when Louis follows his gaze to the dead iPad clutched in Louis’ hands like a lifeline. All Louis remembers from last night is him and Harry playing a riveting game of _Would You Rather_ that kept them laughing well into the night.

“Oh. Er- We must’ve fallen asleep,” Louis mutters, purposefully avoiding Max’s particular wording choice that caused Louis to panic. In a good way of course.

Louis quickly places the iPad on the bedside table where it belongs, making a mental note to charge it as soon as possible so that it’s ready for their next eventful evening of absolutely nothing.

“Uh, so what did you need, love? I’m all ears,” Louis grins despite the fact that the sun is barely even up and his son looks so eager to chat.

“I want to do the talent show!” he beams. Seeing him so happy put an instant smile on Louis’ face even if it is the arse crack of dawn.

“Okay, great! That’s amazing!” Louis praises him before moving onto the most important part of Max’s announcement. “What talent show?”

“The one for my class,” Max explains very matter-of-factly.

It takes Louis’ sleep-deprived brain a few seconds to even recall the words talent and show appearing together recently. Eventually, the vague memory of an email sent out by Max’s teacher ages ago crops up in Louis’ mind. It had a flyer attached for the yearly talent show going virtual along with everything else. From what Louis remembers about bringing it up to Max, he was one-million-percent uninterested in participating. Of course, that was back when Max was practically a different kid. Not the excitable and sure little boy currently smiling at him.

“Alright then! Please tell me what you’d like to do for the show. I’m _dying_ to know,” Louis says, as if he doesn’t know exactly what Max is going to say.

“I want to play my guitar!”

“You’re amazing at it! Excellent idea!” Louis humors him, managing to refrain from grabbing his son and peppering a million kisses to his beautiful, talented little face.

Louis listens dutifully as Max details his plan of getting Harry to help him learn a new song for the occasion, shocking Louis all over again when he reveals that he wants to sing too.

That’s about all the surprises Louis can handle for one early morning, finally reaching out and pulling Max into bed with him for more tickles, love, and praise than he probably bargained for. But, hey, that’s Louis’ job as the proudest parent on Earth.


	5. Chapter 5

“You finally gonna tell me which song you’re teaching my kid?” Louis asks a few weeks later. He does so in vain, rolling his eyes at Harry who still flat-out refuses to tell him anything. Louis should be annoyed about being purposefully kept in the dark, but it’s hard to be annoyed at Harry when he looks so fucking cute snuggled up on his sofa, unshaved, curls pulled back, and wearing a thick hoodie that matches his eyes.

“All will be revealed in due time,” Harry smirks like some kind of fortune cookie.

The mystery is killing Louis. Ever since Max decided to do the talent show, he’s been having his lessons and practicing in the garden shed behind the house. It is cramped and cold and mostly a place for Louis’ mother to store all of her gardening things. The shed is definitely not ideal for a rehearsal space, but Max wants his performance to be a surprise, so that’s where he has been spending a lot of his free time. Louis tries to sneak a listen whenever he brings Max hot chocolate and extra layers to keep him warm. However, anytime Max hears the door of the house creaking open or approaching footsteps, the beautiful chords he was strumming suddenly turn to silence. 

“Oh, come on, give me just a tiny hint,” Louis begs. He is delightfully surprised when Harry sighs in defeat rather than giving him another resounding no.

“The only hints I can give you is that he’s been working hard on it, he sounds great, and you’re sure to love it, Lou.”

“Ah, so it’s a song or artist I like then,” Louis deduces. There are hundreds of songs or artists that Louis likes, so that’s not exactly helpful. “Just one more hint?” Louis winces.

Harry doesn’t even attempt to entertain that request. “Nope. You’re just gonna have to wait to be dazzled with the rest of the masses.”

The ‘masses’? They’re talking about a Zoom call with two-dozen seven-year-olds.

“I hate you.”

“Well, hate and love can be really similar in nature,” Harry grins. “They can be very hard to distinguish.”

“Mmm, no, definitely hating you right now. In fact, it’s more like a total loathing,” Louis claims, making Harry let out a cackle that booms through both of their houses.

“Would you still hate me if we watch some more of Stranger Things?” Harry tries as a bribe, but Louis sees right through it.

“You _hate_ Stranger Things,” he kindly reminds Harry, and of course, he denies it.

“What? That’s not true,” Harry disagrees. “I like it because you like it. I love watching any show together.”

Louis is supposed to still be annoyed with Harry at least until the end of the night, however he doesn’t stand a chance with the way his stomach just turned a full cartwheel.

“Still hate you,” Louis lies, fighting his own stubborn grin when Harry calls bullshit.

Louis isn’t kept in suspense about Max’s talent show performance for much longer. By the end of the next week, the big day has arrived, Max, his class, his teacher, and his very special guest, Harry, are all queued up on Zoom waiting for the show to begin, while Louis and his mother watch on from their front row seats across the room.

As anxious as Louis is right now, he’s sure Max is twice as nervous. He looks confident though. He’s wearing an outfit he spent ages picking out with a rainbow manicure Louis helped him perfect just last night. He looks like a little man sitting next to the guitar that’s twice his size, but now looks so natural in his hands. The only thing able to take Louis’ eyes off of his very grown-up seven-year-old is his phone vibrating in his hand.

He doesn’t even have to look at it to know exactly who is texting him now just minutes before Max’s turn.

‘ _You ready for this, dad?’_

Louis’ stomach is in so many knots from the wait that he hardly notices the butterflies from Harry checking on him. And jokingly calling him dad the way he does when he knows Louis is being a worried papa. _‘Excited and nervous for him,’_ Louis sends back, but he feels himself breathe a little easier when Harry tells him he has nothing to worry about because Max is about to crush it.

Over half of the kids in Max’s class dance, sing, draw, paint, and play instruments before they get to Tomlinson near the end of the alphabet. Max grabs his guitar when it is time and Louis feels his mother squeezing one of his hands and his phone vibrating with a new text in the other that reads, _‘Here we go!_ ’.

Max’s introduction is short but sweet and incredibly cute, telling everyone that this year his friend Harry helped him learn to play guitar and helped him learn his song for today. When he starts strumming the slow melody, Louis doesn’t immediately recognize it, but his mother sure does. Her eyes light up with recognition almost instantly, however it takes Louis a little longer; until Max brings in the lyrics as well and he starts singing _You’re Still The One_.

Louis knows this song. His mother practically played it everyday the year it came out, and she has continued to do so as the years go on. Max must have heard Shania Twain hundreds of times by now, but Louis has a sneaking suspicion his inspiration came from Harry too.

It’s funny hearing Max singing about something so serious in his little voice. It’s also impressive to see just how far he has come in such a short amount of time. The kid from a year ago would’ve never sat here as the center of attention and done something like this; to be this fearless. As Max plays and sings, he makes a couple of mistakes, but not even that stops him. He just keeps going until the song is finished, everyone is cheering, and he’s wearing a smile so big and proud that Louis could cry just seeing it.

That evening, they keep the good times coming by making a celebratory dinner for the big star. They all make pizza and brownies from scratch, including Harry on the iPad who does everything that Louis’ mother says to do to get the perfect crust. Once it is time to eat, they set up Harry on the free side of the table where they can see him enjoying his own pizza from the comfort of his own kitchen. Louis looks around the table, feeling pure adrenaline bouncing off his family and the room like he hasn’t felt in a long time, and for once, things are pretty perfect. However, Louis also can’t shake the feeling that something is still slightly off, because having Harry here in virtual form is great; amazing even. But, he knows without a doubt that having Harry here in person is the missing piece of the puzzle. In more ways than one.

“Hey. Do you remember the time you randomly hung up on me?” Harry asks later that night when they’re both in their beds, still celebrating the day by sharing a little night cap.

Louis spits wine over his freshly washed sheets at the accusation, making Harry look even more smug.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’d never hang up on someone,” Louis insists.

“Yeah, unless the someone is _me_ ,” Harry snorts, the shit-eating grin on his face eventually forcing Louis to break. There’s no point in lying when Harry is clearly onto him anyway.

“ _Fine_ , I admit it. I hung up on you,” Louis rolls his eyes. “ _But,_ it wasn’t on purpose. I was just a bit nervous is all,” he quickly adds while mumbling a bit into his wine glass. He had hoped that most of that would get lost and he’d be off the hook, but Harry heard every word.

“Nervous?” he frowns skeptically. “ _Why?_ ” he asks as if the mere thought of someone being nervous around him is unfathomable.

“Um, sorry, have you _seen_ you?” Louis snorts, blinking in surprise when Harry responds with similar outrage.

“Have you seen _you_?”

Louis hadn’t expected that. He also doesn’t expect his stomach to go all fluttery when Harry’s cheeks suddenly go red and he tries to use his wine glass to hide his dopey, dimpled smile.

“I didn’t mean it that way,” Harry says, backtracking just seconds later. “Well, I did because obviously you’re gorgeous, but I don’t get nervous around you because of it,” he clarifies. “Mostly, I just feel excited whenever we get to talk. I- I like you a lot.”

Louis can’t wipe the smile off his face. He has the sudden urge to become a puddle; a shocked, delighted, and ridiculously giddy puddle. He’s amazed he hasn’t transformed into one from hearing Harry say those things about him. _Him_. He still can’t believe it when Harry keeps talking, further reducing Louis to fucking mush.

“And, even though I know we’re just friends sort of getting each other through this,” he continues, “I constantly think about what it would’ve been like to have met you normally.”

“Ew. Like _outside_ where the sun lives?” Louis grimaces to make Harry laugh. “ _Not_ socially distanced? Sounds fake,” he jokes even though Louis often daydreams about the same thing.

“Oh no, it’d be real. We’d meet out in society,” Harry explains with an emphasis on society like it’s some rare and exotic delicacy. “Maybe even in the same building. Maybe even in the same _room_ ,” he teases.

“And no masks obviously. Or shields,” Louis adds to their pre-pandemic fantasy.

“Well, no, of course not,” Harry grins, “how else would I kiss you?”

The two of them spend a lot of time flirting and talking around the giant elephant in the room, but that? That was about as direct as direct can get. Harry wants to kiss him; interesting and exciting news for Louis who figured he was the only one who spent his free time daydreaming about an alternate reality where Harry is more than just Max’s music teacher and way more than Louis’ friend.

“Meeting pre-pandemic is starting to sound pretty nice,” Louis teases when he’s able to compose himself and stop grinning from ear to ear.

“Yeah, it does sound nice,” Harry agrees, grinning just as hard, “but, so is this.”

Louis lets his eyes slide shut and his body slide down his headboard until he’s staring up at the ceiling with his mind and heart racing. Honestly, if the man wanted to kill him, he should’ve just said so.

*

In the days that follow, Harry is all Louis can think about. Granted, that state of existence isn’t much different from any of the other days that Harry’s texts, calls, and dumb jokes dominate Louis’ thoughts. Now, Harry Styles has become a distraction like never before, because Louis has a full-on crush.

It has been so long since Louis felt buzzy and excited just from thinking about someone, that he forgot people actually feel this way. The last time Louis was this into someone was with Max’s dad. Unfortunately, they decided to call it quits a year and half in. He moved away. Louis and Max moved on, and it’s basically been just the two of them ever since. Louis wasn’t looking for someone to fit so seamlessly into their little family unit. He wasn’t looking for anything besides a friend to talk to every now and then to keep him sane while the world continues to spin out of control. Nevertheless, the stars aligned somehow despite being so unaligned. Harry popped into their lives and made it feel like living again when least expected. And now, all Louis wants is to date him properly; something a lot easier said than done in the middle of a global pandemic.

Together, they jokingly painted a picture of what it would’ve been like to meet under normal circumstances, and the image was one that Louis very much wants. He wants to see if Harry’s curls feel as soft as they look over video and if his eyes are truly that green and gorgeous. He wants to hear that cackle of his in person and to know how it feels to hold his hand. And lately, there isn’t a single night that goes by that Louis doesn’t imagine kissing him; the thing Louis wants to do most of all. Besides stripping Harry out of his signature green hoodie that somehow makes him look adorable and hot all at once.

“I wish you were here,” Louis says after Harry’s ten-minute ramble about having caught Leila chewing his slippers again.

Suddenly, Harry looks much less annoyed about having a to order a new pair, now cheekily grinning back at Louis. “Yeah? Damn. I haven’t showered all year,” Harry says purely to make Louis laugh, and it works like a charm.

“Annnd, I take it back. You and your smelly clothes can stay right where you are,” Louis says, but he backtracks again just seconds later. “No, but, really. It’d be nice to just lie here with you; you know, maybe watch dumb tv on the same screen for once,” he chuckles.

Harry hums in approval and cuddles further under his duvet. “That does sound nice. We could argue about Love Island as per usual, but then afterwards...” he says with a wistful sigh, stirring the millions of butterflies that apparently live in Louis’ stomach permanently.

“Then afterwards?” Louis presses.

“I’d finally get to kiss you for real rather than constantly daydreaming about it... and also just regular nighttime dreaming about it,” Harry tacks on with a laugh.

That’s exactly what Louis was hoping to hear. Harry isn’t here with him, so they can’t do any of the things they’ve said, but Louis can imagine it and the visual is pretty great. “I’d like that a lot,” Louis reveals. “But, if you actually were here, I hate to tell you that Love Island would be the last thing on my mind.”

“Really?”

“Oh, one-thousand percent, love,” Louis confirms, watching Harry bite down on a smirk. “Fuck Love Island,” he laughs, only making Harry’s smirk dirtier as he props Louis against a pillow opposite him to free his hands.

“What would you do next if I was there?” Harry asks, making Louis’ mouth go dry as he pushes down his duvet so that he isn’t so covered up.

For a moment, Louis freezes, unsure if he is reading this situation correctly and it’s leading to FaceTime sex, _or_ , if this is just wishful thinking and a shit ton of projecting on his own part. He gets his answer when Harry notices his hesitation. Harry soon removes all doubt in Louis’ mind by sliding one of his hands beneath the waistband of his joggers.

“Th-This is happening? We’re really doing this?” Louis checks just to be one-hundred percent sure he isn’t imagining Harry starting to tease himself.

“Well, I was trying to,” Harry chuckles with his cheeks flushed red. “So far, all we’ve done is fight over a reality show and hypothetically kiss goodnight.”

Louis’ eyes instantly dart over to his closed door that typically remains unlocked in case Max has a nightmare or needs his dad for some other reason. As much as Louis tells himself that Max isn’t going to come into his room tonight because he hasn’t in ages, he can’t properly relax until he is sure he won’t be walked in on.

“Er- Give me one sec,” Louis tells Harry before hopping out of bed. Harry lets out a tortured little groan while Louis crosses the room, throws the lock, and then runs back. He follows Harry’s lead by propping the iPad against the pillows on the opposite side of the mattress. Louis even goes one step further by clawing his way out of his t-shirt and kicking out of his joggers before lying back on the bed on his left so Harry can see him.

“Someone’s an eager beaver,” Harry snorts when he sees Louis is much more naked than he was ten seconds ago.

“Oh, shut up and keep touching yourself,” Louis orders, noting the very pleased sound that his assertiveness earns him.

Louis watches as Harry’s hand moves lazily up and down beneath his joggers, but he grows frustrated not being able to see more of him. It’s almost like Harry reads his mind, pausing what he was doing with his hands to strip out of every stitch of clothing he had on. Once he’s completely bare, he lies back down and resumes stroking himself and making Louis so hard that he’s leaking.

“What next?” Harry asks.

“I want to taste you,” Louis whispers as he pushes down his boxer briefs and begins stroking himself. “Starting from your mouth... then down your neck and collarbones... I’d spend a lot of time there bruising you up properly,” Louis says, hearing Harry release a shaky sigh as if he can feel it all happening.

“I’d roll us over and kiss you back just like that,” Harry says, making Louis’ eyes flutter closed just thinking about it. “I’d pin you down to the bed. Make sure you’d be able to feel every love bite I make for days after.”

Louis has a thing for being slowly marked up by the person he wants. The pit of his stomach is fluttery imagining Harry’s teeth gently nipping at his skin.

“Fuck, Haz,” Louis breathes as he details moving down his chest and lower stomach and marking him up there too.

“Then what would you want? Maybe... my hands around you? Stroking you the way you’re doing it now?” Harry teases, laughing a bit when Louis sucks in a sharp breath. “Or, maybe you’d want my mouth instead...”

“ _Mouth_ ,” Louis decides without even having to contemplate it.

“My mouth then. Licking up every drop you have to give... sucking you down until you touch the back of my throat and I’m practically choking on it.”

Both Louis and Harry are jerking themselves so fast now that the sound of skin on skin fills Louis’ bedroom. They’ve barely even begun and Louis is already approaching the edge. He was so horny before this began that he didn’t even need the filthy play-by-play Harry is giving him. He could’ve gotten off just looking at him, which is probably why it doesn’t take more than Harry whispering he wants to fuck Louis for him to suck in a painful breath and start spilling all over himself, his sheets, and his mother’s poor iPad which frankly never stood a chance.

He hears and sees Harry reach his breaking point, curling in on himself and coming until he’s flushed bright red from his cheeks down. Once he finishes, he lies still trying to catch his breath, sending Louis stomach fluttering once more when he aims a big, dimply grin at the camera.

They both dismiss themselves to grab some tissues and clean up a bit before flopping back onto their respective beds.

“God, I needed that,” Harry says with a breathless chuckle. “That was fun!”

“Er- Yeah. It was really fun,” Louis agrees, the butterflies retreating as uncertainty and regret start taking up residence from fear that this was _strictly_ fun for Harry because Louis is thinking of it in a different way. What just happened wasn’t sex the way they’re both probably used to, but it still meant something to Louis. He wouldn’t have done that with just anybody. In fact, he’s pretty certain the only person in the world that he’d feel comfortable enough to do that sort of thing with is Harry.

“ _Loouis_ ,” Harry sings at him with a slight furrow of his brow. “You’re oddly quiet over there. And frowny. Why are you frowny?”

Louis rolls his eyes at himself and his stupid heart that won’t allow him to have meaningless sex even through a screen.

“Haz, I - Like you. Like, a _lot_ ,” Louis emphasizes making Harry’s dopey smile return.

“Okay, I’m liking this so far,” he laughs. “I like you a _lot_ too. Go on.”

“I mean I like you more than I’ve liked anyone in a long time. Like, a really, really long time,” Louis admits.

Harry seems to still be on board, his eyes fond as he leans in closer to the camera to see Louis better. “How long?”

“Max’s dad six years ago?” Louis shrugs with a wince he can’t stop himself from making because what he just said is kind of heavy and serious and not really fun the way Harry was just so excited about.

Louis doesn’t want to explain anything he just said because essentially telling Harry that he feels the same way for him as a person he had a child with is a lot, but it’s true. Thankfully, Louis doesn’t have to explain because Harry is still smiling at him just as big and sure as before.

“Okay,” he says, putting Louis’ nerves to rest so he can breathe easier. “It’s good to know we’re on the same page about things because... I like you more than I’ve liked anyone else in a long time too.”

Louis snorts a laugh at Harry parroting his own words at him.

“Oh, yeah? How long?”

“Twenty-seven years?” Harry shrugs, suddenly looking shy in a way Louis has never seen before. “I’ve got you beat, Tomlinson.” Ordinarily, Louis would hate the idea of losing to Harry, but in this special case, losing feels a lot like winning.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Tabby! As always, you're amazing for reading over this as I write it!
> 
> Update coming soon!  
> School is quite busy these days, so bear with me 🙂


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